Cuban Black Beans & Rice

This recipe comes from The White Dog Cafe cookbook by Judy Wicks & Kevin Von Klause. The White Dog Cafe is located near the campus of the University of Pennsylvania and is the most "Obie" like restaurant in the West Philly neighborhood in that Judy tries to get all of the food on the menu from local, organic and humanely treated ingredients. When she started the restaurant she was ahead of her time!

Cuban Black Beans & Rice (Moros y Cristianos--translated as Moors & Christians--a Cuban staple).

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, minced
1/4 cup minced garlic
1 green bell pepper, finely diced
2 celery ribs, finely diced
2 T dried oregano
1 T ground cumin
1/2 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
1/2 ground allspice
1 pound dried black beans, picked over for stones and rinsed well
2 bay leaves
1 smoked ham hock (optional)--I don't know where I would get a ham hock in Oberlin so I used 1/4 lb of Betty's bacon instead.
8 cups water
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves and stems
2 T fresh lime juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. In a large pot set over medium heat, heat the oil until it ripples. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, bell pepper, and celery and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the oregano, cumin, coriander and allspice and cook for one minute more.
2. Add the beans, bay leaves, bacon or ham hock and water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer until the beans are very tender, about 1 hour. If necessary, add a little water during the cooking to keep the beans from scorching.
3. Remove and discard the bay leaves (I often leave mine in the dish and whoever gets the bay leaf in their serving knows that good luck is coming their way!). Remove the ham hock and reserve. Ladle 1 cup of beans into a small bowl and mash them with the back of a fork. Return the mashed beans to the pot along with the cilantro, lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Remove the meat from the ham hock and finely dice. Add back to the beans. Keep the sop warm until ready to serve or let cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
4. Serve with brown or white rice. When serving top with any of the following--grated cheese, sour cream, scallions, tomato salsa or cooked egg.